I’ve heard from people in two agencies that notices went out via e-mail, which has not happened in other rounds of layoffs. Some agencies are still working through exactly how their layoffs will fall — I know the Education Department, as of this morning, was still working on it — but most notices were issued Wednesday.

I spoke to one laid-off PEF member whose Jewish, and said the e-mail notice landed just before the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.

“It was so impersonal,” the PEFer said. “This is being done in such an inefficient way that it’s clearly not about the money.”

“Regardless of the level of observance or the number of Jewish staff that will be effected by this, it was inappropriate and wrong to begin this process at a time when many are not going to be at work today, tomorrow or Friday due to religious observances,” Bowen wrote.

“For those unable to meet today, another meeting will be held tomorrow. Phone calls are going out along with the certified letters informing people of their selection on the list. The lack of respect that this continues to demonstrate to the humanity of our state worker’s is appalling and to me immoral. I could go on about the general unessecary vindictiveness of this entire action, but I’m preaching to the choir here I’m sure.”